Palm sugar

Palm sugar is made from the sap of palm trees, which is collected from the cut flower stalks or the trunk and boiled until the water evaporates. When the sap is boiled down and allowed to crystallize as a whole, the result is called jaggery, which is typically about 85 to 90 percent sugar and 8 to 10 percent moisture.

The finished sugar ranges from a soft paste to hard cakes and blocks, in colors from pale gold to deep brown, with a flavor reminiscent of caramel and butterscotch.

It is used across South and Southeast Asia in puddings, cakes, coconut desserts and syrups. Cooks shave or grate the hard blocks and melt them into batters and sauces, and it can replace brown sugar in many recipes.